First Project: 70% Model M

[anotherbaal]

I have a Model M(1391401) that I am willing to destroy/disfigure to fit on my desk.
I will be documenting the process on here. Any advice from veteran modders are welcome! This is my first project(ever)! I have never handled a power tool in my life.

I want to be clear about what I mean by 70%: usual 60% + Function row. This will allow me to leave the top part of the case intact and save lots of cutting.

The Plan:
-Chisel out the rivets to gain access to the front panel/backplate
-Cut the front panel and backplate
-Bolt-mod
-Fold the excess membrane behind the plate
-Cut the case to fit
-Reassemble
-Figure out how to program arrow keys, Pgup,Pgdn,Home, and End keys to a function layer

Well... that's easier said than done, I guess.....

I picked up a rotary tool to cut the case earlier today.
I need... a chisel, bunch of 2mmx8mm bolts and nuts, something to cut the backplate with, something to put the case pieces back together after I mangle it(epoxy? super glue? not sure yet)
More to come with pictures! stay tuned.

[hashbaz]

An ambitious first project!  Good luck and post results!

[bcg]

Just some quick thoughts...

You might want to consider cutting up a terminal Model M instead of your 1391401... these seem to be cheaper and readily available on ebay.  They are cheaper I guess because they require a converter like Soarer's converter or something using hasu's tmk firmware and also they don't have the lock LEDs that people are used to, and they have a lot of non-standard key caps on the part you'll be cutting off.  That said its good for what you are doing since you'll probably be using some sort of converter anyhow and you'll be cutting off the part with the non-standard caps, and you have no use for the lock LEDs anyhow

Also I like using a flush cutter instead of chisel for removing the rivets:

http://www.amazon.com/Xuron-Maxi-Shear-Flush-Cutter-Pliers/dp/B005GR6JRK/ref=pd_sbs_indust_10

Not that a chisel won't work but I just think this is faster and simpler

I'm in the middle of basically the same project; I have my bolt mod finished but haven't done any cutting, I'm still waiting on some stuff in the mail to complete my converter.  The thing I like about this project is that its a little bit more difficult than some other mods but its not like the deity level stuff that wcass and mkawa are up to with their custom membranes and SSK revival projects.

Can't wait to see the results of your mod!

[fohat.digs]

Is there a current "standard" guide for bolt-modding Ms, like "Sandy's Bolt Mod" in days of old?

And, does the "ghetto SSK" guide still exist?

[CPTBadAss]

Fohats, I've been linking people to the to The GH Wiki bolt mod guide. Some people like ripster's guide.

The OP might be interested in this thread from The_Beast as well.

[anotherbaal]

Just some quick thoughts...

You might want to consider cutting up a terminal Model M instead of your 1391401... these seem to be cheaper and readily available on ebay.  They are cheaper I guess because they require a converter like Soarer's converter or something using hasu's tmk firmware and also they don't have the lock LEDs that people are used to, and they have a lot of non-standard key caps on the part you'll be cutting off.  That said its good for what you are doing since you'll probably be using some sort of converter anyhow and you'll be cutting off the part with the non-standard caps, and you have no use for the lock LEDs anyhow

Also I like using a flush cutter instead of chisel for removing the rivets:

http://www.amazon.com/Xuron-Maxi-Shear-Flush-Cutter-Pliers/dp/B005GR6JRK/ref=pd_sbs_indust_10

Not that a chisel won't work but I just think this is faster and simpler

I'm in the middle of basically the same project; I have my bolt mod finished but haven't done any cutting, I'm still waiting on some stuff in the mail to complete my converter.  The thing I like about this project is that its a little bit more difficult than some other mods but its not like the deity level stuff that wcass and mkawa are up to with their custom membranes and SSK revival projects.

Can't wait to see the results of your mod!

I have thought about buying a "project dummy model m" to butcher, but I ultimately decided I just want to keep a minimum number of working keyboards in my arsenal. Also I am too attached to this thing to let it sit in a closet. I will be then even more motivated to make this thing work till the end.
Also I plan to use the original controller for now(I got a PS/2 port) and if I feel like getting fancy, I will hook up a teensy(which is on its way now). But that is for much later when this thing actually works.

Flush cutter sounds convenient! I will have to check that out.

A questions for you. What are you planning to use to cut the backplate? Just dremel?
Also I've been scouring hardware stores today and could not find 2mm x 8mm nuts and bolts. Better dig into local sources.

Good luck with your mod!

[anotherbaal]

Fohats, I've been linking people to the to The GH Wiki bolt mod guide. Some people like ripster's guide.

The OP might be interested in this thread from The_Beast as well.

Yep. Actually that article and couple more I found were the inspiration pieces for my project:
Hasu's: http://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=29483.0
Matt3o's http://deskthority.net/workshop-f7/from-model-m-to-60-t6013.html

[fohat.digs]

Flush cutter sounds convenient! I will have to check that out.

Also I've been scouring hardware stores today and could not find 2mm x 8mm nuts and bolts. Better dig into local sources.

A chisel blade for your Xacto knife is the fastest and best, if you have a steady hand. Also by far the best at shaving the "mushrooms" flat but it needs to be a fresh sharp blade. I keep my older rougher blade for the original rivet cuts.

2mm nuts and bolts are very hard to find. I posted my McMaster-Carr order below. They shipping is reasonable and very fast. Bolts come in 100-packs which is enough for 2 keyboards. The self-tapping screws at the bottom are for the front row, but are not really necessary.

[anotherbaal]

A chisel blade for your Xacto knife is the fastest and best, if you have a steady hand. Also by far the best at shaving the "mushrooms" flat but it needs to be a fresh sharp blade. I keep my older rougher blade for the original rivet cuts.

2mm nuts and bolts are very hard to find. I posted my McMaster-Carr order below. They shipping is reasonable and very fast. Bolts come in 100-packs which is enough for 2 keyboards. The self-tapping screws at the bottom are for the front row, but are not really necessary.

I was thinking of just sanding down if it mushrooms up. I might just go medieval on the rivets and sand down before drilling. Right now, just contemplating the options.

For the nuts and bolts(and washers), I had to make a special order from Fastenal, because options are limited up here in Canada. They said 3-4 days so that's super fast compared to HongKong ebay shopping. And they were pretty cheap too. Didn't get any tapping screws.

[fohat.digs]

I was thinking of just sanding down if it mushrooms up.

Whatever.

I have done quite a few of these and there is no sandpaper or any other form of abrasive of any kind in my Model M bolt-modding kit.

Shaving with a very sharp chisel blade produces beautiful results and takes less than 1 second per cut. Brute force grinding takes much longer, is far harder to control, and produces an ugly result.

Believe me, I used the chisel and sandpaper route for the first few that I did, and I would never go back to anything that crude again.

[anotherbaal]

Whatever.

I have done quite a few of these and there is no sandpaper or any other form of abrasive of any kind in my Model M bolt-modding kit.

Shaving with a very sharp chisel blade produces beautiful results and takes less than 1 second per cut. Brute force grinding takes much longer, is far harder to control, and produces an ugly result.

Believe me, I used the chisel and sandpaper route for the first few that I did, and I would never go back to anything that crude again.

Do you have a link to the chisel blades? I will try to find something similar if I can. I still got some time before the bolts to come in, so, no rush

[anotherbaal]

After fiddling around with the dremel tool, I went ahead with the cutting job.
More sanding and smoothing are in order but all in all I am satisfied.
I used a cutting wheel bit on mid-speed and slowly made my way in between the openings.


I nicked it here and there playing with speed control but I'm not picky with aesthetics. Functionality and made-by-me is the motto of this project.


I cut just to the right of the stand-off at top right corner to support the backplate.


I didn't bother cutting the bottom right part of the board (rubber grip and folding leg). The right side ugliness will be covered by the top piece and the bottom will be a sturdy one piece.


Since I will be waiting on nuts and bolts, I am going to smooth out the case and find the right adhesive to put the top case together in the meantime.
I will need some kind of putty to fill the uneven parts. Time to look back at what Hasu did.

[fohat.digs]

Somebody suggested grinding the same material (you have some pieces, he ran an old printer through a planer) into "sawdust" and mixing it with acetone to make a slurry. It will harden back and be the same color.

If you are going to paint, JB Weld epoxy is GREAT for almost anything (second only to duct tape) but it dries dark gray.

Here are some blades:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/X-Acto-0217-17-Light-Weight-Chisel-Blade-5pk-/151151275729?pt=Model_Kit_US&hash=item2331516ed1

The one that rubs on the plate cutting the rivets initially will get trashed, so save a fresh one for the mushroom harvest.

[E TwentyNine]

After fiddling around with the dremel tool, I went ahead with the cutting job.

Well, it's a little late now, but what I did when I was making my first mod SSK out of a fullsize M was cut along the existing "seams":



First I just did a straight cut taking off the numberpad.  On the main piece I cut vertically down at about the point between scroll lock and pause keys, cut horizontally to the edge, then down at the bottom cut in horizontally under the cursor keys, then down.   

On the right piece I notched out the inner area, and got the lengths of the bottom and top tops close to correct.

The two pieces fit together like tab A into slot B,  required some shaving to get the lengths correct.  I was just a little sloppy letting it set that the top pieces were slightly off.   It isn't really noticeable unless the light hits it just right, and the bottom join is much cleaner.  I may go back and fix the top at some point.

[anotherbaal]

Somebody suggested grinding the same material (you have some pieces, he ran an old printer through a planer) into "sawdust" and mixing it with acetone to make a slurry. It will harden back and be the same color.

If you are going to paint, JB Weld epoxy is GREAT for almost anything (second only to duct tape) but it dries dark gray.

Here are some blades:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/X-Acto-0217-17-Light-Weight-Chisel-Blade-5pk-/151151275729?pt=Model_Kit_US&hash=item2331516ed1

The one that rubs on the plate cutting the rivets initially will get trashed, so save a fresh one for the mushroom harvest.

$16 shipping to Canada... I will have to find an alternative.

I have looked around for "ABS Glue" with acetone, and I will try that with shavings from case cutting.

[anotherbaal]

After fiddling around with the dremel tool, I went ahead with the cutting job.

Well, it's a little late now, but what I did when I was making my first mod SSK out of a fullsize M was cut along the existing "seams":

Show Image

First I just did a straight cut taking off the numberpad.  On the main piece I cut vertically down at about the point between scroll lock and pause keys, cut horizontally to the edge, then down at the bottom cut in horizontally under the cursor keys, then down.   

On the right piece I notched out the inner area, and got the lengths of the bottom and top tops close to correct.

The two pieces fit together like tab A into slot B,  required some shaving to get the lengths correct.  I was just a little sloppy letting it set that the top pieces were slightly off.   It isn't really noticeable unless the light hits it just right, and the bottom join is much cleaner.  I may go back and fix the top at some point.

Since I'm doing 60%, I could have cut right between F11 and F12  and achieve similar design as yours. One reason I cut the way I did was because I wanted to leave the main alpha key border part intact(right beside Enter key). I thought this would give more support in terms of rigidity.

Yours look really nice though. Bottom is hardly noticeable if at all.

[anotherbaal]

I got a call this morning from Fastenal about the nuts and bolts coming in. And I thought to myself: "I lazed over the weekend. I should finish this up."
So I did(almost...). Pictures are worth more than thousand keyboard strokes:


Fast turn around(for Canada).


Heeding fohat.digs advice, I used a closest thing I can find to a chisel blade(very sharp xacto blade), I started taking off the tabs.
I just used the blades(without the xacto knife body) to chisel under the tabs in circle.


Stamp on the backplate. Seems weird because on the back of the shell, it says, 1391401, 01Sept91.
As you can see, they are not the most flat cuts around but using a little tip from Ripster's bolt-mod guide, they were super easy to manage.


Springs were in good condition. Just a little dirty.

[anotherbaal]

Took the springs off, and started shaving off the mushrooms using the said sharp xacto blade.


Drill using 1/16'' drill bit.
The little tip I was talking about earlier: It was very hard to drill straight into the tabs since they were not really flat.
So, I took my soldering iron and made a dimple in the middle of the tabs by melting them(I know I shouldn't melt plastic with my iron).
Then the drilling was a breeze. Just stick the drill into the dimple and slowly and carefully drill through.
This melting method made the mushroom left behind after drilling softer and easier to shave off.


I went all out and drill through every hole and put a bolt through every one of them. I figured I will decide which ones to actually fasten later.


View from the other side.
At this point, I cut the backplate using Dremel3000 and Carbon Fiber reinforced cutoff wheel at Max speed.
It was spark-tastic and I forgot to take pictures. Be sure to wear protective clothing/equipment for this kind of work!

[anotherbaal]

Fastened a few washer/nut combo, I hooked the controller up and tested using AquaKeyTest. To my surprise, nothing went wrong and all the keys registered.
I had to wedge a sheet of paper between the excess trace sheets to prevent unintentional keypresses.


Finally, fastened couple more bolts making sure not to deaden the pinging sound too much(I fastened too hard at first and that completely changed the sound and feel).
I had some trouble folding the trace sheets behind the backplate, they were stiff and due to the curvature of the backplate, they did not want to fold easily.
I was afraid of accidentally severing a trace so I didn't force it in too much. Hence the ugly bulge.
Functionality-wise, the project is done! All the keys register(I am actually writing this up on this keyboard) and I wrote up a simple AutoHotKey script to mimic HHKB arrows, Home, End, PgUp and PgDn keys.


The final piece remains: putting the top plate together. I took fohat.digs suggestion of using acetone and shavings from the case cutting to make "ABS cememt". What I didn't realize was that the shell of this particular Model M is not made of ABS. I soaked those shavings in a vat of acetone for 2 days and it just sits there unimpressed.
I might try JB Weld Epoxy (as fohat.digs suggested as well) but I am unwilling to paint this so I will give it some more thought and time as I research ahead.

Easter egg: I am sure some of the readers caught it. I removed the stabilizer slot thing from the backspace key to make it 2 keys. Even before the project started, I was wondering if this could be done. When I opened up the backplate, I was pleased to find the matrix actually had a contact point under the stabilizer barrel.(I guess I could have glanced at Unicomp's membrane assembly picture). I use HHKB2 for my macbook so this will keep in line with the layout(Backspace right above Enter key, RControl + ; ' [ / for arrows, RControl + L . K , for PgUp, PgDn, Home, End). I figured this will reduce finger confusion while switching between the two.

The * key to the right of +/= key sends Bios Key Code 125(0x7D) or Windoes Key Code 255(0xFF). I haven't figured out what to map it to.
I could completely copy HHKB layout and have Esc key spot open for something else.

I deem this project 95% done. I like the fact that I can change the feel of the keys by tightening or loosening the nuts in the back anytime I want.
I was in a rush to finish this project since I was typing on a backup membrane board and I missed the bucking spring feel.
Now, I am going to take my time researching ways to glue the top shell pieces.

[fohat.digs]

I took fohat.digs suggestion of using acetone and shavings from the case cutting to make "ABS cememt".

Easter egg: I am sure some of the readers caught it. I removed the stabilizer slot thing from the backspace key to make it 2 keys. Even before the project started, I was wondering if this could be done. When I opened up the backplate, I was pleased to find the matrix actually had a contact point under the stabilizer barrel.

Sorry if I mislead you. I have never done the ABS/acetone thing, I was just passing along a suggestion from someone else. If you can find the right color of filler, even if it is not structural, you can make the repair with reinforced epoxy on the back side and not worry about the color which won't show.

The Model M/Fs have several "secret keys" that people use. That Left Shift is one that gets divided occasionally.

[anotherbaal]

Sorry if I mislead you. I have never done the ABS/acetone thing, I was just passing along a suggestion from someone else. If you can find the right color of filler, even if it is not structural, you can make the repair with reinforced epoxy on the back side and not worry about the color which won't show.

It's my fault really. I should have checked the details thoroughly beforehand. Gluing on the backside with epoxy is intriguing. I think I will try that.
Now, just need to figure out a way to make/buy a right kind of filler. There is a bigger gap between the two pieces than I have first anticipated due to the bulge of the folded membrane.

[fohat.digs]

Shavings of the exact plastic might be the best way to go, if you can find the best glue/caulk/whatever vehicle to hold them.

I am following this with interest because I plan to make a ghetto SSK sometime.

Trashing a prototype to learn all the things not to do has been my MO in the past. I have a couple of M-122s laying around that I might try to turn into a "Space-Unsaving-Keyboard" first.

[anotherbaal]

I am following this with interest because I plan to make a ghetto SSK sometime.

Trashing a prototype to learn all the things not to do has been my MO in the past. I have a couple of M-122s laying around that I might try to turn into a "Space-Unsaving-Keyboard" first.

I like that. I definitely learned alot from this project. Thanks for all the tips and advice! I will figure something out about the top shell and post pictures.

[anotherbaal]

While researching for the filler material for the gap, I have found this: http://www.jbweld.com/product/j-b-plasticweld-putty/
I think I will pick one up later today to try on a sample pieces to review the result. The color might not be too far off from the shell color as well.

[fohat.digs]

While researching for the filler material for the gap, I have found this: http://www.jbweld.com/product/j-b-plasticweld-putty/
I think I will pick one up later today to try on a sample pieces to review the result. The color might not be too far off from the shell color as well.

Looks good for color, but its strength is 350 psi vs 3900 psi for the standard gray, so you might still want to do something else for the actual bond.

I have never used anything but the original. I was tempted by the "quick dry" until I saw that its strength was half that of the slower kind.

[anotherbaal]

While researching for the filler material for the gap, I have found this: http://www.jbweld.com/product/j-b-plasticweld-putty/
I think I will pick one up later today to try on a sample pieces to review the result. The color might not be too far off from the shell color as well.

Looks good for color, but its strength is 350 psi vs 3900 psi for the standard gray, so you might still want to do something else for the actual bond.

I have never used anything but the original. I was tempted by the "quick dry" until I saw that its strength was half that of the slower kind.

I picked up the PlasticWeld(with 350PSI) and putty'd it to fill the gap. The result wasn't too bad. The color is not an eyesore and it seems strong enough for now. If it does break, I will sand it down and try one of these two:

http://www.jbweld.com/product/j-b-clearweld/ or
http://www.jbweld.com/product/j-b-plasticweld/


Before curing


After curing. Not much color change after.

[anotherbaal]

I think this project is winding down to a conclusion.
Just finished curing epoxy putty which filled the gap between the two top shells. The result is pretty stellar and it holds up well for now.
This is only 1/10th strength of the regular JB Weld epoxy but I will monitor how well/long this PlasticWeld holds out.


Messy under the shell. Added a bit more to give just a bit of extra support.


The color is not too far off from the actual case in my opinion. I don't really see a reason to paint it. Or maybe I am just being lazy and giving excuses to myself.




The final product. Just needs some light sanding to remove bumps from the putty.

This has been a fun project and I definitely learned a lot. I see why people do the things they do on making-stuff-together.

Future plan for the M70 in the order of most likely to I-probably-wouldn't-but-just-an-idea:
1. Teensy to replace the controller and remap on the hardware level(Right now, AutoHotKey does the heavy lifting)
2. Possibly sand down and paint over the shell.
3. Cut the matrix sheets and reroute the matrix(similar to hasu's)
4. Once 3 is done, pry apart the top shell and sand down the seam more to make a tighter fit.

[llovro]

wow. This looks awesome. Good job on this and good luck with your future projects!